Social Networking Essay: What Makes Social Networks Addictive?

You’ve been assigned a social networking essay, and it sounds really great, because you’ve finally gotten an assignment that at least somehow touches your real life, and not some abstract concepts found in books. So, you sit down and start writing, but soon after you find out that your essay looks like a blog post rather than an academic paper. What can you do about it?

First of all, we want to remind you that, regardless of the topic, most essays still are supposed to maintain academic tone, so you can’t just write it as a story you will send to your friend or post at your blog. Secondly, you need a clearly defined thesis statement and a set of arguments to back it up. Are you already terrified and hate your social networking essay assignment? Don’t worry, we know how to help you.

First of all, you can use the sample provided below to get a better idea of how such papers should be written. Use it as a template to understand the structure of an essay and the usage of arguments. Secondly, we have a lot of useful advice on writing and motivation at our blog – don’t forget to check it out, too!

What Makes Social Networks Addictive?

A contemporary world can boast many technical, and intellectual achievements, without mentioning a huge human potential, but our society was completely overwhelmed when the first created social networks started its invasion. And, in the 21st century, they made us literally dependent. So, what makes them so habit-forming?

Firstly, this addiction lays in the social networks’ variety. There are dating, and common interest websites, online encyclopedias, and friend social networks, where we can communicate. For example, “Today, more than 500 million users are active participants in the Facebook community alone and studies suggest that between 55% and 82% of teenagers and young adults use SNSs (Social Network Sites) on a regular basis” (Kuss and Griffith 68). Secondly, such networks are like an own virtual world. We can stay private there, or we can paint our story in bright colors. But by receiving a particular feedback there we may aggravate our self-esteem, and enhance our diffidence. Not to mention the fact that we can acquire a habit of a pathological lying. “Most adolescents (78%) always or predominantly received positive feedback on their profiles” (Schouten 101). Thirdly, its addiction is the desire to find a friend. A lonely or socially rejected person just wants to find the same people in order to create a so-called shelter. A place, where they can keep it real, find support, and not feel neglected.

Ultimately, we can deal with this social network addiction with the help of our positive and careless attitude toward such online instruments. These networks are just some kind of challenge which we have to overcome and learn to enjoy the benefits of civilization.